[Reader-list] Christist conversion marketing as multinational enterprise -- TH Chowdary

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

http://dharma1.blogspot.com/2008/10/christist-conversion-marketing-as.html
Christist conversion marketing as multinational enterprise -- TH Chowdary
October 7, 2008

*The Danger of Hindu-Christian Riots in Andhra Pradesh – TH Chowdary*

The weeks-long Hindu Christian riots in Kandhamal  District of Orissa and
similar incidents in Karnataka are not unlikely to be repeated in Andhra
Pradesh very soon. In Orissa and Karnataka the riots are precipitated by the
intensive, aggressive, extensive activities of hundreds of missionary
organizations with thousands of fulltime, well-paid propagandists and
agents. In Kandhamal District, alone there are 350 missionary organizations
funded from all quarters of the world. They are engaging lots and lots of
unemployed people, to inveigle poor and uneducated Hindus into Christianity
by monetary rewards, given in installments related to the number of people
that these full-time marketers of Christianity are able to convert. Aiding
them are the fifth columns of a number of NGOs with enticing names, all
funded by Christian missions from abroad?  The fact that in Kandhamal
District alone the Christian population has increased from 6 percent in 1970
to 27 percent in 2001, despite an Act enacted by Orissa Legislature in 1967
to prevent conversion shows the intensity of the multinational conversion,
[MNC] enterprises marketing and financial clout.

2.      In Karnataka, it is plain blasphemy, openly and aggressively
indulged in by an MNC enterprise that has led to the Hindu-Christian strife.
In Andhra Pradesh, strife is building up and will burst with great fury in
not too distant a time. In Village after Village, different denominations of
Christians are planting churches, recruiting converts as pastors, paying
them handsomely, they are also engaging thousands of unemployed Hindu youth
for propagating Christianity and gaining converts. These are being rewarded
in installments.  Just as the total compensation of company employees is
having a fixed and varying components, fixed amount and varying amount
related to the number of converts they are able to bring into Christianity.

3       A look at the Table below shows the fantastically numerous places of
worship or prayers of Muslims and Christians district-wise in our State it
would be seen based upon Christian  population  is 1.44% as per the census
of 2001,  there is one   place of worship for seven Christians and one place
of worship for 39 Muslims and one place of worship for 341 Hindus.

Existing No. of Temples, Mosques and Churches in as on 31st March 2005.
(Revenue and Endowment Board of Andhra Pradesh)

District        Temples Churches Mosques
Adilabad        12,346  3,347   18,482
Ananthpur       14,008  4,892   9,328
Chittor         26,120  9,098   12,320
Cuddpah         22,982  7,241   14,223
East Godavari   8,220   12,123  9,230
Guntur          9,302   16,388  5,429
Hyderabad       13,144  3,204   15,203
(Rangareddy)
Kakinada        7,203   8,585   5,274
Karimnagar      4,129   1,648   9,714
Khammam         5,210   7,203   5,922
Krishna         8,929   8,462   3,769
Kurnool         6,549   5,203   9,293
Machlipatnam    5,000   8,320   6,493
Mahboobnagar    3,299   3,128   7,235
Medak           6,302   3,203   3,234
Nellore         7,993   6,782   7,323
Nalgonda        6,882   2,412   5,239
Nizamabad       4,638   3,203   9,366
Prakasham       4,255   5,583   4,932
Srikakulam      7,339   9,879   2,140
Warangal        1,393   6,320   1,342
West Godavari   3,293   5,464   2,765
Vishakapatnam   6,430   3,203   4,203
Vizianagaram    3,891   3,100   3,500

TOTAL      198,857   147,991  175,959

4       Where from is the money coming for the large number of Christians'
places of worship, if the Christian population is only 1.44%? In
contradiction of the census figures, leaders of Christian churches and
associations having been asserting that their population is not less 10% to
12% in Andhra Pradesh and therefore every party must put up 10% to 12%
candidates of their total number, from Christians. The difference between
1.44% as per GOI's census of 2001 and 10% to 12% claimed by Christians is
clear indication of the fraud that the conversion enterprises are indulging
in. It appears that they are telling the converts to continue to describe
themselves as Hindu Scheduled Castes, so that they continue to get the
benefit of reservations meant for Hindu SCs.  They withhold the fact of
conversion from the government records.  At the same time in order to
protect themselves from the exposure of fraud and continue to get benefit of
reservations, they have launched a movement for get "Christian dalits".  The
greatest lure to get converts from Hindu Harijans is that in Christianity
there are no castes.  How come then that there are Dalits among Christians?
Another fraud that the converters are indulging in is 70% of the Christians
in Andhra Pradesh are former SCs.  In the educational Institutions and
medical Institutions that Christians are founding and managing, there are no
reservations for "dalit Christians". But the churchmen and the converters
are asking that in Hindu Institutions, including government and colleges
there should be reservations to Christian dalits. 98% of the Bishops in
India are from upper castes, while 70% of the Christians are former
Scheduled Castes. The caste discrimination continues in Christianity. There
are Reddy Christians, Kamma Christians, Brahmin Christians and Dalit
Christians. They seldom inter-marry. This is another fraud for selling
Christianity.

5       Almost all Hindus are feeling tremendously agitated about the
intense activities of the multinational conversion enterprises, their
planting of churches in Villages. Families are getting divided, so are
Village populations and so will be the entire polity in the state. Wanting
to know whether there is anything in the Gospels which promotes this
division and strife in the people, I am surprised to find the following in
the Gospel according to Luke in the New Testament Chapter 12,

51 "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at
all, but rather division.

52  "For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two,
and two
    New testament of Bible:

53:  "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother
against daughter and daughter against mother.

6        In Andhra Pradesh especially in districts of the Godavari, we are
sitting on a time-bomb of Hindu-Christian strife. To prevent this,
intelligentsia in the State and newspapers and media men with integrity must
bring out the facts, including the conflict between 1.44% Christian
population according to government on the one hand and thousands
of  churches and claims of Christian leaders that their population is 10%
and more.  Government should also find out where from the money is coming
for thousands of full timers and buildings for churches. Income Tax
authorities must also swing into action to assess the total cost of all the
churches that are built and find out from the church owners, the sources of
their funds.

7       Finally, Government of Andhra Pradesh is contributing not a small
measure to the building up of strife between Christians and Hindus by
subsidizing the pilgrimage of Christians to Jerusalem from the funds of the
'secular' Government of Andhra Pradesh.  The 'secular' government is
spending tax moneys for the performance of Christians' marriages. Government
of Andhra Pradesh is not spending tax moneys for subsidizing the pilgrimage
of Hindus or performance of their marriages. The TTD's 'Kalyanamastu'  is
financed by offerings of Hindus to the Hindu God, Balaji in
Tirumala.  Government of Andhra Pradesh is also spending tax moneys,
performing marriages of Muslims.This way the government is contributing to
the heart burning among Hindus and therefore for the building up of
potential strife between the various religious communities in the state. It
would be proper for any responsible government, especially the government of
Andhra Pradesh which claims to be transparent and accountable to come out
with a White Paper on the number of conversion enterprises, associated NGOs
and  finances available to the MNC enterprises to build numerous churches;
how many are engaged as full timers for conversion activities and whether
the Supreme Court's observation that the right to propagate guaranteed in
the Constitution does not confer right to convert is being flouted by the
MNC enterprises.. And since the conversion activities are conducted as a
business with modern marketing methods, with multinational sources for
funds, the constitutionally guaranteed freedom to propagate, profess and
practice religion is being misused by the commercial activities of the
multinational conversion enterprises. Right to convert oneself to another
religion is legal; can such a right to convert extend to MNC enterprises,
operating on commercial lines? It would   be right and prudent to ban this
organized marketing of religions by company-like multinational enterprise
conversion missions offering the same product competitively under different
brands.

Dr T H Chowdary
* Director : Center for Telecom Management & Studies
Chairman : Pragna Bharati, Andhra Pradesh
Fellow: Tata Consultancy Services & Satyam Computer Services
Former: Information Technology Advisor: Government  of Andhra Pradesh
Chairman & Managing Director, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd
Plot No. 8, P&T Colony, Karkhana (Secunderabad), Hyderabad - 500 009.
Phone : +91 (40) 2784-6137,6667-1191  (Off) & 2784-3121 (Res)
Fax :    +91 (40) 6667-1111,  2789-6103  (Off)
E-Mail:  hanuman.chowdary at tcs.com<http://us.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=hanuman.chowdary@tcs.com>
& thc at satyam.com<http://us.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=thc@satyam.com>
http://sites.google.com/site/hindunow/